Portable gun support

ABSTRACT

A PORTABLE GUN SUPPORT HAVING A RECTANGULAR BASE, A REMOVABLE SUPPORT PLATE HAVING ATTACHED THERETO A PAIR OF UPRIGHT SUPPORT RODS WITH A BARREL SUPPORT MEMBER EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN AND ADJUSTABLE ALONG A PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID SUPPORT RODS.

Sept. 28, 1971 B. MANUEL 3,608,225

PORTABLE GUN SUPPORT Filed Feb. 25. 1970 I5 wl? 2s) EBSQ/ges I[zo /zl @j Ihmf'/ f l ,l I' 22 25 271.51 25 22 Flg .6

Benjamin Manuel 3,608,225 PORTABLE GUN SUPPORT Benjamin Manuel, 112 Arch St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15212 Filed Feb. 25, 1970, Ser. No. 13,877

Int. Cl. F41c 29/00 U.S. Cl. 42-94 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A portable gun support having a rectangular base, a removable support plate having attached thereto a pair of upright support rods with a barrel support member extending therebetween and adjustable along a portion of the length of said support rods.

My invention relates to a gun support and, in particular, to a portable gun support for use in bench shooting or open iield hunting.

Gun supports have been infrequently used for many years by hunters and target shooters to aid them in the handling of their firearms. The infrequency of the use of gun supports has been caused largely by their inconvenience. For the most part, the basic design of gun supports has not changed since the day of the long gun. The basic designs have included an X-shaped frame Wherein the gun is supported by the intersection of the legs and a rod with a barrel supporting hook at its end. Neither of these designs however has provided a rigid stable support that is conductive to high accuracy shooting. Furthermore, the typical support is not readily adaptable to both outdoor or open iield shooting and gun shooting.

Attempts have been made to provide better supports, but they have not been entirely successful. Recent designs include a tripod with an elevatable table. This type of support, while having advantages over the earlier designs, is subject to many of the more objectionable qualities found in the older supports, mainly, the lack of rigidity and protection against lateral movements of the gun barrel.

I provide a gun support that overcomes the problems found in prior supports and which is adaptable to both bench and open field shooting. My support is adjustable to accommodate most people and is portable and easily storable. Most importantly, my support is rigid and stable and provides increased accuracy over other types of supports.

Generally, I provide a rectangular base having adjustable screw settings at its corners. At one corner of the base, I provide a removable support plate with a pair of upright support rods attached thereto. A pair of upright support rods are mounted within the collar and are connected together at their upper ends by a crossrod. At least part of each rod contains a plurality of opposing notches. A barrel support extending between the rods and mountable thereover is movable up and down the rods and includes a biased blade for retaining the barrel support at xed locations along the rod by moving into and out of opposed notches on said rod. Sand bags or foam backing may be used on the barrel support to aid in positioning the barrel of the gun and to protect the gun against damaging contact with the rods and support.

-For bench shooting, the base is positioned on the bench and leveled by means of the adjustable screw settings. The barrel support height is adjusted to the preference of the user and the barrel of the gun pressed thereon. The stock and forearm of the user are positioned on the base and shooting proceeds in a normal manner after these adjustments have been made. For open iield shooting, the support blade is utilized without the base and the number of ground anchoring spikes are fitted to the bottom of the plate and pressed into the ground.

The various features and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of my gun support;

FIG. 2 is a section of the base taken along line II-II of lFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in partial section of the movable barrel support;

FIG. 4 is a section of the barrel support taken along line IV-IV of lFIG. l;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section of the blade biasing means;

FIG. 6 is a ground adapter anchor for the support plate; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded alternative embodiment of the support plate.

Referring to FIG. l, the rectangular base .1 is made preferably of wood and having a storage cavity 2 accessible from the bottom. Near each corner of the base and mounted therein are adjustable screw settings 3 for leveling and accurate positioning of the base. I prefer to have cavity 2 for storing the rods and other parts of my gun support when not in use or in transit. The parts are retained in the cavity by a plurality of clamps 5 positioned along the underside of base 1.

Mounted to one end of base 1 is a support plate 10 which is preferably made from aluminum or other heavy metal. Plate 10 includes three triangularly positioned threaded openings 13 which are adapted to receive mounting screws 14 that securely position the plate to the base. Plate support 10 includes a pair of upright support collars 11 mounted thereon. Support collars 11 are adapted to receive support rods 15 and include at least one set screw 12 each for securely holding said rods.

Support rods 15 are joined together in a spaced apart relationship by cross rod 16 Welded at the top. A plurality of opposing notches 17 extend from a position above the support plate to a location slightly above the center of each rod 15. Extending between rods 15 is barrel support 20, FIG. 3. Barrel support 20 is movable up and down the rods to provide an elevated adjustment. Support 20 includes a rectangular frame 21 in which a pair of openings 22 are provided through which rods 15 are positioned. Frame 21 includes a guideway 25 which extends around the interior perimeter of frame 21 and, at the ends of the frame, is in communication with openings 22. Fitted across the interior of the frame and within the guideways are a pair of biased blades 26 having grasp 27. Blades 26 are biased towards openings 22 by spring means 28 retained in guideway 25 by retainer 29. When grasps 27 are pressed together, the blades are retracted into the frame and out of openings 22. When the grasps are released, spring means 28 forces the blades into openings 22 to coact with opposing notches 17 in the rods. The coaction of the blades within the notches retains barrel support 20 in its fixed position along the vertical rods 15.

Alternatively, barrel support 20 can include guides depending from the bottom of frame 21 rather than being formed within the perimeter of the frame. Furthermore, it is not necessary to have the frame encompass the rod such as shown lwith openings 22; they need only encompass a portion thereof. A pair of blades are biased into the notches as described above.

To use the gun support in open eld shooting, plate 10 is removed from the base and spikes 30, FIG. 6, are screwed into opening 13. Plate 10 is then pushed into the ground and anchored by spikes 30. In its arrangement the support may be utilized in the sitting or prone position. To provide more flexibility in open eld shooting, a pivotable plate 10 is utilized, FIG. 7. Plate 10 includes two circular members 18 and 19 pivotally connected by pivot 31. Upper member 18 includes a pair of collars 11 each with set screws 12. Collars 11 are preferably mounted on the diameter of member 18. Lower member 19 includes at least three threaded openings 13 for receiving anchoring spikes 30. Detent means are provided for retaining the relative position of the two members; for example', spring biased ball 33 on plate 19 cooperatively engages recesses 34 provided on the bottom plate 18 to inhibit unwanted movement.

I prefer that the base of my support be about 30 long to accommodate the largest number of people possible. The height of rods 15 is preferably about 30 and spaced apart about 5", but the barrels supports should not be adjustable 'Within about 10" of cross rod 16 to provide sufficient space for a gun and a scope attached thereto.

To further aid in shooting accuracy, small sand bags are positioned on the barrel support to prevent the barrel from moving laterally as well as to cushion it as to any abrasive or jolting forces upon recoil of the gun. A sand bag is also positioned on base 1 to support or cushion the forearm of the user, While 4I have shown and described a presently preferred embodiment of my invention, it may otherwise be embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A gun support comprising a (a) a rectangular base;

(b) a support plate removably mounted to said base;

(c) a pair of spaced apart upright support rods removably mounted to said support plate and having thereon a plurality of spaced opposing notches; and

(d) a barrel support member extending between said rods and movable therealong, said barrel support including a pair of opposingly biased blades engageable into said notches in the rods for xedly positioning said barrel support along the rods.

2. A gun support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said support rods are mounted to said support plate by means of a pair of collars having set screws.

A3. A gun support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said base includes at each of its corners a screw setting adjustment for leveling and positioning the base.

4. A gun support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said barrel support includes an open frame having a pair of openings through which said rods pass, a guideway for 4mounting said opposingly biased blades and at least one spring within said guideway for opposingly biasing said blades.

5. A gun support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said base has a recessed bottom including clamping means for holding and storing said upright support rods and barrel support.

6. A gun support as set forth in claim 1 wherein said plate includes two circular members pivotably connected together and means for `controlling the relative motion between said members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,847,909 I8/1958 Kester 42-94 3,041,938y 7/1962 Seabrook 42-94 3,225,656 12/1965 Flaherty et al 42-94 FOREIGN PATENTS 185,925 5/1907 Germany 42-94 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner C. T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner 

